Irons · Drill
Use Your Lead Shoe as a Target for Ball-First Contact
Part of our irons programs for topped or thin, fat or chunked, weak contact. Build a program with it
Ball-first contact separates good players from the rest. Here's an easy target. Look at the laces on your lead shoe. Make that spot the bottom of your swing. Set the ball just behind it. Now swing down toward that spot. You'll hit the ball first and the ground after. It trains your weight to move forward. It helps your hands lead the club into impact.
The drill
- Set the ball just behind the middle of your stance.
- Pick a spot in line with your lead laces.
- Brush the grass at that spot in practice swings.
- Hit balls with the same goal.
- Check that your divot starts past the ball.
Why it works
The low point of your swing is where the club reaches the bottom of its arc. If the low point is behind the ball, you hit the ground first or catch the ball thin. Picking a spot under your lead laces gives you a fixed place to aim the bottom of the swing. That moves your weight forward and keeps your hands ahead of the clubhead at impact, so the club meets the ball on its way down.
Common mistakes
- You hang back on your trail foot and the club bottoms out behind the spot.Feel your weight move onto your lead foot in the downswing and keep it there through the finish.
- You scoop the club upward at the ball to help it into the air.Swing down toward the lace spot and trust the loft of the club to lift the ball.
- You place the ball too far forward, so the spot sits well behind it.Set the ball just behind the middle of your stance, so it sits only slightly behind the lace spot.
How you'll know it's working
- Your practice swings brush the grass at the same spot each time, in line with your lead laces.
- Your divot starts past the ball, on the target side.
- The ball comes off with a steady, lower-than-thin flight and a crisp feel, not a sharp sting or a heavy thud.
Make it easier or harder
Easier: Lay a tee or a small mark on the ground at the lace spot and brush it in slow, half-length practice swings before you hit any balls.
Harder: Hit balls with a longer iron while still holding the same lace-spot target, and try to repeat the divot start past the ball several shots in a row.
Common questions
Why do I keep hitting my irons thin?
Most often the low point of your swing is behind the ball, or you lean back and lift the club at impact. Moving your weight forward and aiming the bottom of the swing ahead of the ball helps fix it.
Where should the divot start with an iron?
The divot should start at or just past the ball, on the target side. A divot that starts behind the ball means the club is hitting the ground first.
